


What if

by winxixia



Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest XI
Genre: M/M, backstory rewritten, focused on Hendrik and Jasper, i think, that's the only spoil, the other characters are only mentionned, you tell me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:21:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21731485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winxixia/pseuds/winxixia
Summary: As he visits Jasper's tomb, Hendrik thinks about how different events would have been if he had taken care of their friendship.
Relationships: Graig | Hendrik/Homer | Jasper (Dragon Quest XI)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	What if

It was a bright day. The sky was blue, flowers were blooming and birds were singing. A carved stone stood in the middle of a small garden. Loud steps approached slowly. Hendrik walked to the stone. There, he stopped, only to bend down and leave a white flower bouquet on the ground. He looked at the carved words. He sat, lost in his thoughts. He wasn’t one to talk to absent people, not that it was much better with those around, yet he felt the need to for once.

“I’m sorry” he began. He wasn’t sure about how to formulate. It wasn’t like he lacked reasons to be sorry. Maybe he should start with th beginning. “I’ve been a terrible friend.”

A cloud passed. After a minute or so the letters forming the name “J A S P E R” were in the light again. The knight stared at them without really looking. To say he had been a bad friend was understatement. When he was travelling with the Luminary and saw how much the boy was looking after his friends, always making sure the were alright, it took him back in time. Especially when the Dundrasil prince was interacting with the thief - Erik. They fought as one and understood each other better than anyone else. No one could defeat this duo, not even the Dark Lord himself. Hendrik couldn’t help but compare their relationship to his own with Jasper. There had been too much miscommunication and himself eventually ignored his friend’s feelings, leading him to betray everyone. What if Hendrik took care of their friendship? What if they had joined the Luminary and beat the evil together?

As his mind went back in time, the general let his mind wander, one question leading his train of thoughts.

_ What if? _

Wooden sword hit another wooden sword. It flew a meter away, its fall softened by the grass. A blonde boy was trying to catch his breath. His friend held out his hand, yet the boy refused to take it. With a sigh, the other child sat by his side.

The blonde wanted to use a secret path to join the King’s room to make a joke. The children promised to join each other in the middle of the night in the kitchen where the path was. It was past two in the morning and the blonde boy was nowhere to be seen. His taller friend was growing impatient and worried. He didn’t know what to do if anyone would happen to come in the room… Yet it happened. He could hear footsteps coming closer. It wasn’t his friend, Jasper was far more discreet, he walked almost silently. Hendrik was starting to panic. There was no time left. He hid around the table. King Carnelian himself stopped at the door. He looked around carefully and started walking. The child slowly moved at the same time. He tried to remember how his friend managed to remain unnoticed. He had to wait.

At fast, after long minutes, he found an opening. The man was in the storage room. The boy took the chance to dash away. He ran and smiled. He was starting to think he had successfully escaped but a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. He turned to face Jasper, who put a finger over his lips. They retreated quietly to their rooms. Their joke would wait for another day.

Hendrik didn’t like to be the center of attention. He was happy to serve his country of adoption, yet it was sometimes uncomfortable. He was perhaps one of the strongest soldiers of the kingdom, however Jasper was by far the smartest. He admired him for it. His strategies helped them to beat the tallest quite often. The man has gotten very good at illusion spells, which the tall soldier didn’t really approve though he was impressed. The blonde was confident and he had a great self control. Fighting by his side could never bring defeat.

One day, however, Hendrik was ordered to go on a campaign without his friend. Though it was successful and he had to lead an army by himself, he felt lonely. He would usually join the blonde to talk about strategies. They chatted about training and various spells. They stood beside each other, sometimes lightly bumping into each other. They kept their armor on. After that they would split up and go to their respective tents. He missed the times they were sharing one.

He had missed seeing the slender silhouette of Jasper, the way his long blonde hair seemed to float around him when he walked, how he pushed his bangs away from his eyes, his confident smirk…

The king was waiting for him in the great hall, the princess by his side. Nevertheless his eyes caught sight of his childhood friend, and he stopped. The man stood in the shadows at first, then he took a few steps in his direction. He faked a friendly smile, trying to hide the jealousy in his eyes. He offered his hand to shake which Hendrik took without hesitation.

“Wish you were there” he declared. “Thanks to your strategies, we would have come home faster and with less wounded soldiers.” He squeezed the hand. “Next time hopefully. We work better together.”

Jasper looked surprised, if not shocked. He tentatively squeezed back, nodding slowly. Then he stepped back.

“Why did you refuse to be promoted general?” Jasper asked.

They were drinking wine in Hendrik’s room. Dundrasil had fallen under a monster assault a few days ago and the princess most likely killed. Her body had not even been found.

The two knights escorted the king back to his castle. For an unknown reason he wanted to reward only Hendrik and not Jasper. The tall man refused. It was ridiculous. His friend deserved the title as much as he did. They were the most powerful duo of knights. He didn’t like the idea of different treatment.

“Because I was the only one who was given this chance. This is unfair.”

“Did you fear I would be jealous of you?”

The blonde was sitting lazily, his long hair descending along his shirt, partially open. If his attitude looked casual for an outsider, the bitterness in his voice told otherwise.

“No.” Hendrik watched as Jasper emptied his glass slowly. “I think this is unfair. It was no personal victory. It was ours. I don’t deserve this title if you’re not sharing it with me.”

He wondered if the man was even listening. They drank in silence.

“Thank you.”

It was barely a whisper, but it was there. Hendrik smiled.

They fought together against the Darkspawn only to learn he was innocent all along. King Carnelian had been under the control of Mortegor. So many fights happened. Against the Luminary’s crew and later on their side, Jasper and Hendrik fought together. The greatest foes of the heroes became their best allies. The black knight was strong, the white one was smart. Few words had to be spoken to set them into action. Even after the war, they stayed by each other’s side as they were trying to rebuild Zwaardust. Together.

Hendrik blinked a few times. Twilight was here, meaning he had fallen asleep. He stood up slowly. He remembered each detail of his dream. The knight smiled at the stone.

“I’m the worst friend, am I not?”

The wind rose, sounding like an arrogant “huff”. His smile only grew broader.

“Good night Jasper. I’ll come back soon.”

He walked away.

“Good night Hendrik” a thin silhouette replied, even though he couldn’t see nor hear it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this.  
> This was a small idea I had and I needed to write about it.  
> I wanted to developp their relationship in a romantic way but this sounded a bit off to me. In a next work, maybe... ;D  
> Anyway, if you like, please leave kudos, or even comments! Feedbacks are welcomed!! ^^  
> Have a great day everyone! And thank you for stopping by!


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